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Golf with Keith

08/17/10

Dustin Johnson

Bottom line on the Dustin Johnson controversy that cost him a chance to win the PGA Championship - a player and his caddie have to know the rules, especially when it's a quirky local rule like what existed at Whistling Straits.
I'm like just about everybody else - when I saw the shot live on the 18th hole Sunday, there's no way I thought that was a bunker.
It looked like a small gathering of sand in the middle of a field full of weeds, where fans had been trampling for a week.
But the first thing listed on a rules sheet given to every player is that every grain of sand on that strange golf course is considered a bunker, even if it is off the beaten path, even if there are sand castles or trash or footprints in the bunker.
By tranditional standards, that's not a bunker and sounds strange, but people who play for a living should know there are often local rules that deviate from the norm.
Johnson handled the situation well and seems the type that can bounce back and not dwell on the controversy, but he also sounded a bit arrogant when asked if he had read the local rules.
To paraphrase, he said he didn't read it, never read them and wondered why he would need to read read them. The easy answer is you might have a major if you had read them.
And that's where the caddie steps in. Players are pretty busy with other thoughts, but it's inexcusable that a caddie doesn't read the local rules each week and isn't prepared for situations in which a local rules overrides an established rule.

Golf is a game of rules and gentlemenly behavior, and the the tradition and rules of the game came through at the PGA. It's too bad Dustin Johnson didn't.

08/16/10

Best golf shot I've ever seen

A round of golf with Asheville Tourists manager Joe Mikulik is always a treat.
A couple of cliches immediately come to mind when you see him tee it up - "Swinging from the heels" and "he doesn't get cheated on his swings."
An athletic former baseball player, Mik loves to pull out driver and let her rip, and a powerful swing can produce both prodigious length and some pretty spectacular misses when he's off the mark.

In both golf and poker, Joe likes to say "I didn't come here to drink sweet tea," his colorful way of saying playing it safe isn't in the game plan.

If you have seen him manage his baseball team in a constant attacking, aggressive style, you know what I'm talking about.

And captain's choice is a perfect format for him, though he plays that way even when it's for $1 a hole or $10 a side.

In a tournament last week at Etowah Valley, good Joe and bad Joe were on display, but good Joe hit a drive that I'm still in awe of of.
On the first hole of the South course, the white tees were up due to construction of the normal tee boxes.
The par-4 was playing 310 yards, and Joe hit driver OVER the green. On the fly.
The ball never left the flag, a majestic arc (the guy hits driver higher than I hit a wedge) and it was still in its pitch mark 10 yards over the green when we found it. Assuming 310 is either to the front or the middle, the drive carried on the fly between 340-360 yards.
Don't believe it? Neither would I if I hadn't seen it. And yes, we birdied the hole.
We played 13 holes before the tourney to warm up, so Joe had five or six swings attempting to hit the ball over the pond on the par-4 4th hole on the South. He did it every time, and in the tourney we had only about 20 yards left to the green.
Dude is long.

08/05/10

Golfing in Greensboro

When you drive east and think of golfing meccas, Pinehurst immediately comes to mind. Or if you want to go clear across the state, we all know there are dozens of quality layouts at or near the beach in the Wilmington/Myrtle Beach area.

I just spent a few days over the past week or so in Greensboro, both for work and pleasure, and found several golf courses worth raving about.

Grandover, a beautiful full-service resort just off I-85, has 36 holes of quality golf. I was there for ACC Football Kickoff, and was able to sneak out and get in nine holes for two days.
I sampled the East and West courses, and found them both in excellent shape. As resort courses, they weren't terribly taxing, and back for pleasure earlier this week I played the entire 18 holes of the West Course.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the layout and variety of holes, despite slow greens that had experienced a lot of watering a rare heavy rain.
The resort food and hospitality were also outstanding, and a friend's wife who spent three days there raved about the things to do, including nearby parks that offered free bike rentals. Never thought of Greensboro as a getaway destination, but Grandover is a great place to take a date or spouse for a weekend or more.

As part of the N.C. Golf Panel, we also played Greensboro Country Club (Farm Course) and drove down to the Asheboro area for the pleasure of 18 holes at Old North State.
The Farm Course recently underwent a total renovation under noted architect Donald Steel, and the result is a fabulous course I had never heard of. Very, very playable but challenging, and in excellent shape save for a couple of greens showing the stress of winter kill, the heat wave and lack of rain in that area.
I've played Old North State more than a dozen times and am always reminded why it's a perennial choice as one of the panel's top three courses in the state.
It's Tom Fazio at his best, with Baden Lake coming into view and into play often.
There's not a bad hole on the grounds, conditions are consistenly excellent and the staff ranks among the most accomodating anywhere.
The last three holes - a downhill par-4, short par-3 and par-5 18th that is a near replica of Pebble Beach's world-famous finishing hole - all have the lake as a stunning backdrop and are the best cluster of closing holes I've ever played.
If you ever get a chance to get on any of those layouts, don't pass it up.

07/20/10

Good courses in great shape

A recent tour south of Asheville - Broadmoor Golf Links in Fletcher and Etowah Valley CC in Henderson County - was delightful because both courses are in great shape.

The ball is sitting up in the fairways at Broadmoor better than I've ever seen, plush lies that take away one excuse for poor iorn play.

There's a little winter kill on the fairways, but overall the fairways are great.

The always-good greens are in their usual solid shape, though a tad slow. After a rough winter and slow return of the Bermuda, Broadmoor looks and plays very well right now.

The solid work of superintendent Mike Fridl is apparent throughout - the long grass and other links-type looks are clearly defined, and there are no surprises about where you can and can't hit it.

Etowah is a long-time personal favorite, and the more I play the North side, I grow more fonder of the easiest of the three nine-hole layouts. The West and South nines are great, with long and relatively straight holes for the most part that demand a lot of driver, mid-iron shots.

But the North nine features three par-5, two that are reachable with a pair of solid shots, a pair of short par-3s of 130 and 165 yards and three of the four par-4s are driver-wedge if you get off the tee in good shape.

While par is a very good score on the traditional 18, the North gives you some chances to make birdie without the feel of being easy.

As always, all three nine-hole tracks are in good shape, and even in an area that gets a lot of rain, conditions were good and the course played beautifully in mid-July.

07/17/10

Seven straight days of golf

We've all been there and said that - "If I could just play or practice more, my rusty golf game would be so much better."

I fully believed that, until I recently completed a string of playing seven straight days, including a three-day tournament.

I need a new excuse, because the "not getting to play enough hurts my scores" won't work now.

Turns out that if you suck at golf, playing 126 holes in a week does nothing more than drive home the point you have been secretly harboring in the far recesses of the mind that makes you think about three-putting from 10 feet - that you suck at golf.

My foray started with rounds at Etowah Valley and Asheville Municipal on back-to-back days, and I shot normal rounds at both places - 90 at Etowah and 83 at Muni.

I walked the hills of Sequoyah National, the new course near Cherokee, on day three of the Dumbass Tour. Beautiful views, placement golf, shot 86 with two birdies and a few lost balls.

Next up was the biggest treat and biggest disappointment of the tour - soggy rain at Biltmore Forest CC. The summer drought picked a helluva time to end, at the first tee at this Donald Ross classic that as usual is in perfect condition.
I got through 12 holes, two shirts and two rain jackets before the rain got so bad animals were starting to pair up.
I think I saw Bill Murray and a priest on the way to the clubhouse.

Next up was the main reason for this debacle - the Skyview tourney at Asheville Muni. I've played the last few years, never won anything but enjoy the friendly competition and casual pace of the event.

A major reason for taking some time off work and playing so much was to get into tournament shape, whatever that means.
The first day was fine, an 84 that is pretty normal from the white tees and I stumbled into a decent pay day when I won $39 on a 13-hole skin carry over.

Then it got ugly.

Day two of the tourney was day six of the consecutive rounds, but I won't blame it on fatigue (I walked almost the entire 18 holes all seven days), or tourney stress or anything other than I can get very streaky bad when I start a round poorly.
An making an 11 on the par-4 7th, my third hole of a beautiful morning, qualifies as a bad start.

I whiffed twice trying to punch a ball out from under a tree, then shanked a hybrid into the Swannanoa River, just missing a car in the process.

That act of un-golf was soon followed up by a 9 on the par-3 15th, when two attempts to feather a 5-wood into the wind both sailed onto Governor's View Road about 30 yards over the green.

Bet the guv wouldn't have enjoyed that view.

The end result was a 101, a score that physically hurts when you see it posted on a scoreboard in bright red letters for all to giggle and deride. And I lost $12 to a buddy who looked at me sadly like I just drove over his puppies.

Winning the second flight would have to wait another year - I was 26 shots out of the lead.

As buzzards circled my golf bag, Muni employee John Mitchell asked if I planned to play in Thursday's final round. Not sure if he was making a suggestion that I take up fishing or just get off the course and leave it to the players, but it helped motivate me to show up the next morning with a determination to not embarrass myself again.

Five hours later, I walked off the course as proud as I've ever felt from a very modest life playing sports.

A round of 78 included pars on all nine holes on the front side, though they weren't consecutive (I started in the shotgun format on the 5th hole).

Realizing I could put together a solid round after such a horrible showing the day before was something to hang onto. I also got to hang onto the $16 I won off the same buddy, who very honorably didn't point out that for the three days he beat me by 10 shots.

And an immediate thought came to mind - I'm so glad they flighted after the first round. If I cruise in 23 shots better than the day before and they flighted after the second round, I would go into the sandbagger's Hall of Fame and would probably get a 5-iron inserted into a very painful and unplayable lie.

I actually had an eighth straight day of golf planned, but work and rain cancelled that. I did play today for an eighth round in nine days, and with about three holes left I wanted to call Mommy and beg to come home.

For all those who love the game and think playing every day would be ideal, I can tell you that for the moment I am sick of sticking a tee into the ground.

But I can't wait to play again, and find out if the guy who shot 78 or the clown who posted 101 shows up.

06/30/10

A perfect Sunday

How good is a 1:42 p.m. tee time at Mount Mitchell Golf Course?
Those who have had the pleasure of playing WNC's best golf course know where I'm coming from.
A leisurely one-hour drive from Asheville, enjoying a glimpse of Lake Tahoma on the drive up and enough sharp curves to go slow and soak in the greenery of early summer, and then you hit the top of the hill and the anticipation begins.
I've played the course a couple of times a year or more for 30 years, and it's still exciting to turn into the parking lot and see the downhill par-4 finishing hole, brilliantly framed by the glistening sand bunkers greenside and in the fairway and the South Toe River with rock guardrails protecting the putting surface.

Old friends greet you in the pro shop and the foursome is off in the middle of the afternoon, no crowds pushing from behind or holding up play ahead.

A first-timer to Mount Mitchell is given the tour, shown the large trout that hangs out in the river near the second tee, impatiently waiting for the fish food sold in the snack shop.

The golf course is an amzing piece of property, a flat 18 holes with the exception of three holes on the back surrounded by the mountains and the Pisgah National Forest.

It's always disappointing to play poorly at your favorite place, but an uncooperative driver with a total disregard for your love of the course creates an uneven front nine, the saving grace a sand-save birdie on the short par-5 8th.

It gets better after the turn, especially when a sliced 5-iron approach heading toward the forest on the par-5 12th gets a kick off the tree that propels into two-putt par range.

The stretch of Nos. 12 through 14 is a monument to exquisite routing and three near perfect golf holes.
You get the sense you are all alone on the course, and the holes play tough but fair.
A brief lightning scare delays play for just a few minutes, and a sage bearded man at the maintenance shed convinces us the storm is headed into a safe direction away from the course.

The finish to an otherwise untidy 89 is perfect, as if scripted. While my buddies are struggling, and after one of the few long, straight drives (my Cobra is forgiven for past transgressions), the wedge approach lands about 25 feet short.

About three times a year I get this premonition that a long putt is going down, and just for the hell of it I announce to the foursome that's going to happen as I approach the birdie effort.
Hit a little too hard, it never strays from its line, and about five feet from the cup my buddy tending the flag begins using colorful phrases not fit for publication as my called shot drops.

A perfect Sunday comes to a glorious end.

If you haven't played this jewel, no more time should pass before you make a tee time.

06/25/10

Why I play the game

Emerging from the most miserable winter of my 51 years of living in Western North Carolina, the golf game was in even more disrepair than the normal cold-weather rust.
But optimism that this would be the year returns every spring just like the flowers and warm weather, only to be dampened by the reality of the catastrophic effects of an out-of-shape body, a stubborn refusal to change the baseball grip and a thought process that’s much more “one hot dog or two at the turn” instead of “grip, swing plane, get though the hips.”
What usually gets through my hips are the two hot dogs that invariably win the mental debate around the 8th hole.
My saving grace is a refusal to take the game too seriously. I love to play with my buddies, enjoy meeting new players on the first tee at Muni or in tournaments, and see golf as an excuse to get outside and enjoy the weather and views and catch up with friends.
I don’t like to play without betting, friendly wagers on a sportswriter’s salary that nevertheless adds a little mustard to the three-foot putt to decide the match.
My handicap hovers from 11 to 13, and I’ve accepted the fact it won’t get better and will surely increase like birthdays.
I break 80 a couple of times a year, fail to break 90 much more often and can still reach triple digits when the driver gets especially finicky and the mind wanders to why I’m wasting five hours on this freakin’ game.
And I have no excuses. A job much busier in football and basketball seasons offers ample time to play in the warmer months, I live a chip shot away from Asheville Municipal, and until they catch me sneaking on I play fairly often.
A new set of clubs this spring, the first in decades, briefly created illusions of being a consistent 80-82 kind of player.
But a shift in shaft stiffness (and please let’s avoid the double entendre possibilities in that passage) with the new driver created a slice that was frightening in its right to left flight pattern (I’m a lefty) to the point I was thinking boomerang.
Returning to the welcoming bosom of my old Cobra (she forgave me) brought some semblance to normalcy, and rounds of 82 at Maggie Valley (with a last-hole yank out of bounds on 18) and 85 at treacherous High Vista on back-to-back days last week convinced me that 78 was around the corner.
We’ve all been there, right? String a few good holes or rounds together, it feels right, this is a game I can play.
Reality and Grove Park Inn arrived the following afternoon. I blame it on the heat (fat guys shouldn’t play three days in a row in 90 degrees), the mental exhaustion, but mostly on my own delusions of having found a swing that worked.
93 strokes later, I doffed off $7 to one buddy, $5 to another and $1 to third member of the “Let’s break Keith club.” Shockingly, all three guys who profited from my misery seemed eager for me to join them anytime for more betting and double bogeys.
And I will, because the pull to play golf and the chance to spend time with friends or make new acquaintances is as strong as ever, whether shooting 78 or 108.
I would like to hear from you golfers, about your rounds, your experiences, your reasons for playing the game.
I hope you check out Mountain Golf Guide, our new golf page on CITIZEN-TIMES.com, and please offer your input on what you would like to see and what it needs to be better.
See you soon.